The Skeptics get it wrong - AGAIN!

Once again, for the second time in as many months, those who are loosely associated with an organisation inappropriately named the Australian Skeptics, have started to crow about the demise of the AVN because we have cancelled our registration with ASIC (The Australian Securities and Investments Commission).

But, to paraphrase one of my very favourite American authors, Mark Twain; reports of the AVN's death have been greatly exaggerated.

Like so many other statements made by this group, they have gotten it all wrong. How interesting though that they not only have the time but the energy to constantly search this information and to find these things out so quickly and pursue them so doggedly. One has to wonder what sort of good work they could do if they were to take all that angry energy and devote it to something worthwhile?

But in any case, I think that I did actually discuss this in one of our recent newsletters as one of the changes that were decided upon after our recent reorganisation.

We took over this registration with ASIC in 1998 (or 1997 - I can't remember the exact year) from the Australian Council for Immunisation Information which was run by the incredible Maureen Hickman, author of Vaccination: The Right Choice? At that time, we had branches in every state and territory of Australia and the ASIC registration meant that we didn't need to have individual registrations in each particular state which was very helpful to us.

For many years now, however, we have only had the one office in NSW and the ASIC registration just represented extra requirements in the way of reporting and extra costs so, it was something that our committee decided should be cancelled and that's what we did.

We simply cancelled our registration with ASIC - we are NOT closing down. We are still registered with the NSW Department of Fair Trading and with the Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing as a charity authority holder.

And how interesting to note that one of the posters on this link says that once our registration with ASIC has been cancelled, they can then register the name Australian Vaccination Network.

To the best of my knowledge, they will not be able to register this name while we have valid registrations for it, but this is exactly the tactic they used with another body that formed at the same time that we did - in 1994.

VAIS, the Vaccination Awareness and Information Service, started in March 1994 at exactly the same time as the AVN (formerly called VAN) and the VINE on the Sunshine Coast in QLD. From that time until now, the original group of 3 woman has freely offered information, support and lobbying to the public of QLD. They have not been paid for this service nor have they ever asked for any recognition for what they have done. Their only reward was helping others and keeping the world free for their own children and for other people's children too.

Last year, one of the people who posts on all the skeptic boards but who claims that she is not associated with the skeptics (I personally feel that this is something they all like to do as a way of protecting their organisation - because so much of what they do and say appears to be absolutely reprehensible) discovered that the name of this organisation had never been registered. Seeing an opportunity, she registered the name and started a website using that name where she regularly posts private information about all of those who support free vaccination choice. She also uses these pages to attack anyone who supports our groups and to issue an especially toxic form of abuse against all those who believe that free speech is everyone's right as is freedom of health choice.

While this may be legal (they hadn't registered the name - but why should they have? They were not a business - simply a group of mothers helping other mothers and fathers), it is definitely not moral, ethical or right.

So for this group to celebrate the demise of the AVN - though the AVN has not died - and to suggest that they would take advantage of that demise, does not surprise me. Saddens me, perhaps, at the depths to which some people will fall to achieve their goals (and what is their motivation really? Has anyone ever questioned that? Most of the core group don't even have children!) no matter the cost in pain and money to others.